Chapter Five
land in the town was sold off and subdivided. The population ofDorchester continued to rise, averaging
between 2,000 and 4,000 persons per year, and reaching 197,257 in 1935. This growth was limited as
the centUly progressed, however, by the lack of available space for subdivision and by rising urban
density (MHC 1980b).
Transportation improvements continued tlu'oughout the twentieth century with the increased service of
streetcars in the first half of the century and of subways and buses in the second half. Automobile
routes were expanded and improved as areas were developed, resulting in a complex, organic street
pattem. Major roadway arteries were constructed as routes to downtown Boston and the surrounding
communities, including the construction of bridges over the Neponset River. In the 1930s, parkways
were created tlu'oughout the town by the Metropolitan District Commission, including Morrissey
Boulevard along Dorchester Bay, and the Turtle Pond and Neponset parkways (MHC 1980b).
The continued focus on residential development in Dorchester tlu'oughout the twentieth century acted
against the expansion of industrial concerns. Relatively few new industries developed during the period,
with some ofthese occupying the sites of older industries that had relocated or simply ceased operation.
Among industries active in the period were a small yacht manufacturing facility, and machine, boiler,
rubber product, insulated wire, glue, awning, piano, refrigerator, and can production facilities (MHC
1980b).
In the second half of the twentieth centmy, Dorchester suffered, as did many nOlihern communities.
Dorchester's propeliies suffered as a result of a lack of capital, making them prime targets for the
Urban Renewal movement ofthe late 1960s and 1970s. While some rehabilitation associated with this
movement was successful in the short term, it was, overall, not a long-term solution to many of the
problems faced by the community. In the 1990s, however, Boston and the surrounding towns regained
their viability as technology, higher education, and financial fields provided a boost for the economy of
the city. Neighborhood revitalization efforts have experienced resurgence in interest over the past
decade, as grassroots organizations have been established in many communities, including Dorchester,
in an effort to recapture the viability and sense of pride in the community that had formerly existed.
East Boston
The peak population of the community was reached in 1925, when 64,069 residents were counted.
Until 1935, the population remained over 60,000 persons. The increase can1e primarily from immigrant
laborers from Russia and Eastern Europe, who replaced skilled craftsmen that left the area as the
shipbuilding trade declined. Both the Italian and Jewish populations also increased in the early years of
the twentieth centmy, with the Jewish community said to be New England's largest by 1905. Italians
continued to be the majority etluuc group in East Boston, though now they were counted as both first
and second-generation residents (MHC 1980a).
The expansion of railroads into East Boston continued during the first half of the twentieth century.
Narrow gauge tracks were replaced with electric trolley tracks by the 1920s, and the East Boston Subway
Tunnel was constructed in 1901 for streetcars, enhancing the ability to travel from East Boston to
Boston Proper more rapidly. Transportation outside of East Boston was increased with the continued
80
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
improvements to automobile highways radiating out of town, and to the Revere Beach Parkway, north
of the conmmnity (MHC 1980a).
In 1923, the General Edward Lawrence Logan International AirpOli was established on filled mud flats
between Noddles and Governor islands. Its first passenger flight was in 1929. In 1934, the Sumner
Tunnel, the first automobile crossing of Boston Harbor, was completed between East Boston and Boston
Proper. This was followed by the Callahan Tunnel in 1961 (BLC n.d.; MHC 1980a).
Industry in East Boston continued to grow through the first half of the twentieth century, but fell off
after the end of World War II. The Maverick Cotton Mills opened in 1910, followed by the General
Electric Lamp Works, constructed between 1913 and 1918. Hoist equipment, shoes, and candy were
also manufactured in the cOllllimnity. The cOlmnercial focus of the community remained at Maverick
and Central Squares throughout the century. Gas stations, movie theaters, and other commercial structures
were erected to provide for the growing, mobile population. In the latter years of the century, strip-type
development occurred in small segments along the McClellan Highway (MHC 1980a).
The late twentieth century saw the destruction of some of East Boston's original building stock for the
promise of the Urban Renewal movement. East Boston became a mix of old and new buildings during
this period. The ethnic diversity of the population continued to expand, with immigrants from South
and Central America, and Southeast Asia added to the primarily European immigrant population.
Roxbury
Roxbmy reached its zenith in many areas during the twentieth century, and subsequently began a decline
that has calTied it to the present. Between 1930 and 1935, the population of Roxbmy rose by 15,000
persons, largely as a result of an influx of African Americans. The 1935 population was Roxbmy's
highest ever total, at 225,634 residents.
Roxbmy's residential development during the twentieth centuly continued to be linked to transpOliation
routes. Streetcars continued to travel between Roxbmy and Boston into the mid-twentieth centmy,
with buses providing service later in the centmy. The construction of the Metropolitan District
COlllli1ission's parkways system in the early twentieth century provided more impetus for development,
though the focus was split between residential and commercial development.
Brookline
Plantation Period (1620-1675)
Following the difficult but eventually successful English settlement within Massachusetts telTitOly at
Shawmut (now Boston) in 1630, several satellite settlements were established including Brookline in
1635, known at that time as the "Muddy River Hamlet" (Town of Brookline 2004). The area was
recognized for the excellent pasturage provided by its extensive marsWands and meadows and its good
timber; initial settlement was concentrated around Muddy River especially the ford at present-day
Brookline Village. Expansive land grants along the drumlinoid features ofAspinall, Corey, and Fisher
Hills eventually matured into productive farmsteads by the 1660s as the Massachusetts "threat" was all
PAL Report No. 1936.01
81
Chapter Five
but neutralized through the combined forces of decimating disease, aggressive Christianization policies,
and the appropriation of native telTitOly.
Colonial Period (1675-1775)
By the Colonial Period, the native Massachusetts groups that once occupied the Brookline area had
dispersed throughout the region in response to English encroachment and its attendant negative impacts.
English settlement, on the other hand, blossomed, so much so that by 1705 Brookline was established
as an independent town, with its social and political center focused on the Muddy River crossing. The
economic backbone of the town was agriculture. There was limited industrial and commercial
development, however, in the form of several tanneries, a saw and gristmill, and a forge (converted
from an earlier chocolate factory) (Town of Brookline 2004).
Federal Period (1775-1830)
Brookline grew slowly following the close of the American Revolution, doubling its population from
500 to 1,000 people by the first quarter ofthe nineteenth century. The majority ofthe newcomers hailed
from the increasingly overcrowded urban center of Boston, seeking a quieter, more bucolic setting
within which to raise their families. Impressive estates mushroomed across the landscape, and Brookline
effectively began its long history as an affluent suburban community. As the land base began to diminish
in the face of increasing residential development, so too did the dependency on an agrarian economy as
more and more families supported themselves through work in the city. The Boston-Worcester Turnpike
(Route 9) was built in 1806 to replace Sherburne Road (Walnut and Heath streets) as the town's major
highway (Town of Brookline 2004).
Early Industrial Period (1830-1870)
The mid-nineteenth century saw an acceleration of population growth in Brookline, fueled largely by
Irish immigrants fleeing the great famine in their home country. By 1870, the town numbered 6,650
people, with 32 percent of that number foreign-born and 85 percent ofthose foreign-born from Ireland.
With the expanding suburban settlement came the introduction of a commuter railway service to Boston
and the development of several exclusive residential subdivisions, including Cottage Farm and
Longwood. The expanding (and affluent) population resulted in the construction of the second Town
Hall on Washington Street and the establishment of a public library in 1864, the first in Massachusetts
to be wholly funded using public tax monies (Town of Brookline 2004).
The full and receiving basins between Boston and Brookline were increasingly filled and criss-crossed
with roads, canals, and the Boston & Worcester Railroad causeway in the 1830s and 1840s (Seasholes
2003). The extension of the Boston-Worcester Railroad in 1847 resulted in the Brookline town center
shifting from the Muddy River hamlet west to Brookline Village (Town of Brookline 2004). Local
industrial interests included a nwnber of businesses trading in building materials to meet the construction
needs of the rapidly developing town. Farms continued to dot the landscape, but in a much diminished
capacity from previous decades. The marshes sUlTounding the Muddy River channel on the Boston
side, however, remained in private ownership and largely undeveloped throughout this period as they
had since the mid-seventeenth centwy.
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Late Industrial Period (1870-1915)
Brookline continued its rapid population growth throughout the Late Industrial Period, from 6,650
residents in 1870 to 33,490 residents in 1915. This growth was accompanied by the installation of
additional trolley lines and public utilities (completed by 1870), and the expansion of affluent suburban
neighborhoods including homes along WalTen Street, not far from the FRLA project area. Mixed
residential and commercial development was concentrated in the nOlihern portion of the town, with a
proliferation of firms specializing in the manufacture of electrical instruments and motors, and
navigational devices. Conversely, the southern pOliion of the town was characterized by a decidedly
more bucolic atmosphere, with large tracts of open land and the grand estates of the wealthy.
By the early 1870s the largely undeveloped Boston lands along the Muddy River were in the hands of
a variety ofland speculators, real estate trusts, and insurance companies (Figure 5-4). These undivided
parcels stretched from Beacon Street southeast across the Boston and Albany Railroad and Brookline
..
,.~.
-,
.".:,.~"".:J
"
;" ..,
'.L~~)lJ';'{.M,m,:;.,~
~'\ppk JHJlIIH~
\ (i
'"''''
'~
.....
. /',
Figure 5-4. Boston and its environs with approximate location of Urban Ring Corridor (source: Pelham
1777).
PAL Report No. 1936.01
83
Chapter Five
Avenue, and followed the mudflats all the way back and around east through the receiving basin portion
of Boston's Back Bay. It was this largely undeveloped land configuration that existed when the City of
Boston approached land speculators and trusts in the area and initiated one of its largest land-making
and park projects in its history.
Back Bay Fens Parkland and Muddy River Improvements
The Back Bay Park (now known as the Back Bay Fens) was approved by the City of Boston as the first
in a proposed system of public parks. The park was primarily approved because it would handle one of
the city's worst sanitary problems created by the sewage calTied into the full basin by Stony Brook and
the Muddy River. Filling of the basin's marshes to create the park was initiated in 1877 and 1878 to
create several entrances off what are now Fenway and Park drives (Seasholes 2003). In 1878 the city
hired Frederick Law Olmsted to design a formal parkland at Back Bay. Olmsted's plan for the park
involved creating a salt marsh at 8 feet above mean low water that would keep the "fetid mudbanks"
from being exposed at low tide. The low banks along the winding waterway in the park were to be
planted with sedges to withstand inundations of saltwater during high tides and brackish water during
river floods (Seasholes 2003). The two sources of freshwater and pollution, the Muddy River and
Stony Brook, were to be divelied to the Charles in covered conduits (Seasholes 2003).
The work on Olmsted's plans began in 1880 and was focused on the Beacon entrance in the area now
between Charlesgate East and Charlesgate West from the Fens to the Charles River. By early 1882
work had proceeded south of the Boylston Street Bridge into the main part of the Fens. The gravel and
mud dredged from the bottom of the basin were used to build up the shorelines in the park, In 1882­
1883 the city constructed a conduit to carry the nOlmal and stOlTll flows of the Muddy River from the
present-day intersection of Brookline Avenue and Park Drive directly to the Charles via Brookline
Avenue and Deerfield Street. After only a year of operation, a half-mile section of this conduit was
damaged by the construction of an adjacent city sewer line. Shortly thereafter a gatehouse at Brookline
Avenue was constructed to regulate the tidal flow to and from the Charles (Seasholes 2003).
Olmsted's plans for the park also included covering the fill with topsoil so that the park could be
landscaped. The topsoil was hauled in from the excavation of a municipal reservoir in AsWand by the
Boston & Albany Railroad. By 1885 nearly three-qualiers of the pal'k had been dredged, filled, and
ready for planting, and most of the sUlTounding roads had been filled to the proper grade. In the late
1880s work on the park, by then renamed Back Bay Fens by Olmsted, focused on completing the
section east of the Longwood entrance. The work involved dredging the channel, grading the mal'shes,
filling and surfacing the roads, and loaming and planting the banks, By 1890 most of the dredging and
filling was finished to the southeast side of the Longwood entrance,just below the project area section
ofthe park. In 1890 work stalied on excavating the waterway in the Longwood entrance itself based on
plans drawn up the previous year. The gravel fill for this area was obtained from various areas in and
sUlTounding Boston. All work on the park to Brookline Avenue was finished in 1894 (Seasholes 2003).
The al'ea on the west side of Brookline Avenue to Beacon Street was also filled during this period. The
land created along the Riverway was pali of what Olmsted called the "Muddy River Improvements"
(Seasholes 2003). In 1880 Olmsted had changed his original plans for the Muddy River from an
underground conduit and filled valley to an open and maintained river channel with artificially constructed
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banks on which there would be a scenic parkway connecting the Fens with Jamaica Pond (Figure 4-10).
Land was acquired by both Boston and Brookline to create the parkway, and included a change in the
boundary between the two municipalities so that after the river was widened and straightened the boundary
would still be in the middle of the river.
Most of the filling was done on the original Brookline side of the river, which became part of Boston.
The imported gravel fill was placed about 3.5 feet below the proposed roadway grade, and then filled to
grade with peat and loam excavated from the river itself. The dredged materials were insufficient so
the city impOlted additional loam from the municipal reservoir excavations in Ashland. In 1892 the
section of parkway from Brookline Avenue to Huntington Avenue was renamed the Riverway and the
filling on the Brookline side was completed. The Riverway, which was on the Boston side of the
Muddy River, opened in 1893 (Seasholes 2003).
Modern Period (1915-present)
The creation ofthe Back Bay Fens in the 1880s and 1890s prompted the development ofthe surrounding
areas in what was formally the "full basin" section of the Charles River mudflats west of Gravelly
Pond. Streets were laid out block by block in this area that skirted the Longwood section of Brookline,
which had become one of the town's most attractive residential neighborhoods (Zaitzevsky 1982).
Large apartment buildings were constructed on the newly made land in the Fenway area. A number of
institutions also moved to this area, including Symphony Hall in 1900, Simmons College in 1904, and
the Museum of Fine A1ts in 1909. Landmaking continued in this entire area throughout the remainder
ofthe nineteenth century and into the early/mid-twentieth centuly. The resulting made land and improved
parkway system futther connected Brookline to Boston and helped make it a desirable commuter suburb.
The misuse and overuse ofthe expanding residential and commuter systems in Back Bay led to increased
problems with the tide- and flood-control systems designed by Olmsted and the city engineer. The
ongoing flood problems led the City to construct the Charles River Dam downstream of Back Bay in
1910. The dam ended up creating a fresh water basin in the Back Bay Fens rendering the Olmsted
saltwater marsh design obsolete. In the following years several redesigns were proposed by the Olmsted
firm and Arthur Shurtleff, a fOlmer student of Olmsted's, to the park commissioners, but none were
executed (Zaitzevsky 1982).
A1thur Shmtleff is attributed with redesigning much of the Back Bay Fens section of the park in the
next two decades. In 1921 Shurtleff, with the Olmsted finn as consulting landscape architects, prepared
studies and plans for a comprehensive redesign of the Back Bay Fens. The redesigns were intended to
keep as close to the visual character of the original design as possible, but adapt park features to the
modernizing conditions. No action was taken on these plans either (Zaitzevsky 1982). From 1915 to
1922 a series of studies were conducted by Shmtlefffor the Jersey Street Extension. The plans included
a lagoon reflecting basin opposite the Museun1 ofArts Evans Wing. The lagoon was reportedly completed
in 1927 and it included two nearby wooden footbridges and a third wooden footbridge further to the
south at Evansway (CDM 2001). In 1926 Shmtleff completed an update to his park redesigns, which
included a Fire Control Center and the filling in the NOlth Basin, both reportedly completed in 1927.
The Clemente Field House and Stadium were built in 1929, and the Rose Garden was completed in
1933 (Pressley Associates 1989,2001; CDM 2001). Shmtleffalso prepared a survey of the vicinity of
PAL Report No. 1936.01
85
Chapter Five
Audubon Road and Fenway near Brookline Avenue in 1927 (Shurtleff 1927), but it is unclear if any
changes were actually calTied out in what was fonnerly known as the Longwood Entrance p01iion of
the Back Bay Fens.
By the 1920s increased use of the original pal"kways or pleasure drives of the park system as pali of the
city's expanding commuter system resulted in the loss of pal'klands to accommodate wider roads. Both
Park Drive and the Fenway Pal"kway were widened and straightened in the mid-I920s. Other alterations
to the original Olmsted design continued in the 1930s and 1940s mostly to meet the increased demand
of parkway traffic and the need for highway overpasses and interchanges. In the 1950s a portion of the
park that connected the Fens to the Riverway (Muddy River Improvements) was sold for the construction
of the Sears building and parking lot. This construction physically severed the Riverway from the Fens
and impacted pedestrian and canoeing movement between the two park areas.
The natural and aliificial degradations ofthe Riverway and Fens in the urban Boston environn1ent have
continued to the present day. In 1989 a Master Plan was completed for the four parks that constitute the
Muddy River chain of pal"ks of the Emerald Necklace - Jamaica Pond, Olmsted Park, the Riverway,
and the Back Bay Fens (Pressley Associates 1989). The Master Plan was intended to provide a
preservation framework to guide all future planning and action. It was f01mally adopted by both Brookline
and Boston and has been the basis for all pennitting and funding of park improvements implemented
since 1989 (Pressley Associates 2001). Since the fall of 1996 the Muddy River has flooded three times,
and has brought an urgency to the need to restore the river as a step in implementing the Master Plan.
The cun"ent Muddy River Restoration Project is Phase I of the Emerald Necklace Master Plan; it is
designed to improve flood control, water quality, aquatic/riparian habitat, and rehabilitate the landscape
and historic resources (CDM 2001 and Appendix A-Master Plan Update).
Cambridge
Plantation Period (1620-1675)
Cambridge was first established as New Towne in 1630 and renamed Cambridge in 1636. Initially, the
lands comprising the town were divided into smaller parcels of varying sizes, though landowners never
actually lived on these pal"cels. The areas of higher land, "The Neck" and three smaller tracts were
valued as falm and pasturelal1d. The surrounding marshes and river beds provided salt hay and oysters.
In the mid-seventeenth century, the original lot system was erased as several prominent landowners
began to create larger land holdings through purchase and/or inheritance of smaller lots. In 1636
Harvard College was founded al1d established Cambridge as an intellectual center.
Initially, the lands comprising the East Cambridge uplands were known as Graves' Neck, for the first
settler Thomas Graves. Graves' Neck was the northernn10st in a series of drumlins that rose out of the
marshes on the nmih side of the Charles River. It was bordered on the nmih by Gibbons Creek (later
known as the Millers River), and was the only part of modem East Cambridge that was high enough for
seventeenth and eighteenth century settlement and building (Maycock 1988). The ownership of Graves'
Neck passed to Athelion Haugh in 1633 or 1634 where he had his dwelling house. By 1642 the Haugh
property also included outbuildings on about 294 acres of land that bordered the Millers River and
Oyster Bank Bay (the part ofthe Charles River that emptied into Boston Harbor). The property remained
86
PAL Report No. 1936.01
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in the Haugh family until 1700, although the farm dwellings and lands were rented to tenants in the
latter part of the sixteenth centUlY.
Throughout the seventeenth centUly land access to Graves' Neck and the Haugh property was limited to
the Charlestown-Watertown path (present-day Kirkland and Washington Streets), and the area was
relatively isolated from the rest of Cambridge. The easiest access was by water, and a landing place is
documented in the eighteenth centUly and probably existed earlier along the Millers River between
what is now Portland and Fulkerson Streets (Maycock 1988).
Colonial Period (1675-1775)
During the Colonial Period the Charles River core area continued to grow, in filling areas between
neighboring core areas (see Figure 5-2). At the heart of this development were the ports of Boston and
Charlestown. During the later seventeenth century, these two pOlis, especially Boston, grew into major
shipping and distribution centers. The presence of Harvard College gradually changed a largely
agricultural economy to a suburban environment. While Boston was the primary political and social
center, smaller towns such as Cambridge, because ofthe presence ofHarvard College and the Middlesex
County Court, continued to be of local impOliance (MHC 1982b). Agriculture and grazing continued
to be the economic mainstays.
Early transportation systems followed preexisting land and water routes. The importance of water
transpOli gave impetus to a developing shipbuilding industry to go along with the predominantly
agricultural economic base. Land-based routes gradually increased in importance as a means to access
areas inland from navigable waters. Many of these routes followed Native American trails. Paths were
widened into cariways and fords were in1proved through construction of bridges. The street grid for
Call1bridge represented the only European additions to the trail system, mnning along property boundaries
and in parallel, resulting in a formal street plan. Outlying areas ar'ound the formal town center were
held in common and devoted to agricultural activities.
The Haugh farm was enlarged to about 326 acres by the mid-eighteenth century under the ownership of
several different Boston families. By that time it stretched from Prospect and Columbia Streets to the
Charles River and from School Street to the Millers River, giving it near'ly all the Millers River frontage
west to the present Webster Avenue (Maycock 1988). In 1757 the East Cambridge estate was subdivided
among the children ar1d grandchildren of Spencer Phips. Of these subdivisions, the bequest to Mary
Lechmere and her husband led to the reconsolidation of the uplands and mar'shes that later became
known as Lechmere's Point (Maycock 1988).
The Lechmeres were wealthy loyalists who fled back to England during the Revolutionary War. The
land they owned in East Call1bridge was confiscated by the General COUli, and was used for fOliifications
known as FOli Putnam erected by General Washington's army in 1775. The fort was situated on the top
of the hill "with the north bastion near what is now Fourth and Otis Streets and the south bastion near'
Third and Thomdike Streets" (Maycock 1988:12). After the war, the lands reverted to Ul1illanaged
pasture and marshlands, until the 1820s when a church was built on the part of the old fort.
PAL Report No. 1936.01
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Chapter Five
Federal Period (1775-1830)
In the last quarter of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, small industries became a
larger component of the economic base for Cambridge, although agriculture was still important.
Construction ofthe West Boston Bridge in 1793 reoriented the transpOliation patterns in Can1bridge. A
radial pattern ofroutes extended from Harvard Square, including the construction of a number ofbridges
to connect Cambridge with Boston. The causeway to the West Boston Bridge (Main Street) became an
impOliant commercial center, the site of a number of stores, shops, and a tavern. Construction of the
bridge across the Charles River resulted in speculative subdivisions across the eastern tidal marshes
(MHC n.d.). "Squares" were laid out and parallel streets were laid out through them. Lots were sold
along Massachusetts Avenue, Franklin Street, and Auburn Street and small center of development grew
up near the Haymarket (Central Square) (CHC 1971). Throughout the early 1800s, new streets were
laid out, including Broadway, Hampshire, Canal (now Harvard), Medford (now Webster), and Cambridge
streets (MHC n.d.).
The development ofEast Cambridge in the early nineteenth century is largely attributed to the efforts of
Andrew Craigie. Craigie was a Boston-born land speculator and financier who undertook extensive
land speculations from New York City to Maine after the war (Maycock 1988). The confiscated Lechmere
Estate had been purchased by Andrew Cabot, and in 1785 he petitioned the Commonwealth to build a
bridge from Lechmere's Point to Barton's Point in Boston. This petition was rejected in favor of what
becan1e the Charles River Bridge and then the West Boston Bridge, built in 1786 and 1792, respectively.
Craigie in the meantime had become involved in the Middlesex Canal, projected to terminate at the
millpond in Charlestown, across the Millers River basin from Lechmere's Point. The canal was completed
in 1803 and shortly after Craigie petitioned for a bridge to connect East Cambridge to Boston. He
purchased large tracts of land in East Cambridge beginning in 1795 and for the next 10-plus years
extended his holdings across the marshes to the West Boston Bridge (Maycock 1988).
Craigie's land development projects in East Cambridge were boosted by the 1805 Congressional bill
that annexed Cambridge to the district of Boston and Charlestown as a U.S. port of delively. That same
year Craigie petitioned the General Comi for pelmission to build a bridge from Lechmere's Point to
Boston. Craigie palinered with other interests including the Middlesex Canal Corporation and in 1807
was authorized to incorporate as the Proprietors of the Canal Bridge for "the purpose of erecting a
bridge and causeway from Leverett Street in the West End of Boston to Lechmere's Point, with a
fmiher connection to Banell's Point in Charlestown" (Maycock 1988). At the same time Craigie and
his associates were overseeing the construction of Cambridge Street from the Canal Bridge to the
Cambridge Common. Both the Canal Bridge and Cambridge Street were completed and opened in
1809.
Craigie's land development effOlis continued in the early decades of the nineteenth century with the
creation of the Lechmere Point Corporation. His 300-acre holdings were divided into 60 shares with
the new shareholders as tenants in common of the undivided lands, under the name of the Lechmere
Point Corporation. New streets were laid out through these lands including Bridge and Dam (later
East) Streets. The shareholders erected commercial buildings including a hay scale, a blacksmith shop,
and a stone wharf on the Millers River. Bridge Street crossed Cambridge Street near the Canal Bridge,
but the vast landholdings were still mostly vacant in 1810. In 1811 the Corporation proprietors agreed
88
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
to subdivide the landholdings north and south of Cambridge and Bridge Street axis. The resulting
street grid system created a series of recti-linear lots, some of which fell entirely in marshlands. By the
end of 1811, 82 individuals are recorded as living in East Cambridge, but no major industries had
relocated to tIns new street grid system (Maycock 1988).
In 1813 the Lechmere Point Corporation made its fIrst land sale for industrial purposes. Jesse Putnam,
who becan1e one of the incorporators of the Boston Porcelain & Glass Company, purchased a 120,000
square foot parcel between North Street and the Millers River (Maycock 1988). The company failed
after three years, but was taken over by what became one of the area's most successful nineteenth­
century industries, the New England Glass Company. In 1819 a second industry, a soap factory, was
built next to the glassworks. Amos Binney became director of the Lechmere Point Corporation and
built rows of worker's housing along NO1ih Street for the two fact01y complexes. In 1822 when its
charter was set to expire, the Corporation hired S.P. Fuller to survey its land and add more lots, and a
public auction for all the properties was held that same year (Maycock 1988).
Early Industrial Period (1830-1870)
During the Early Industrial Period, Cambridgeport relied heavily on commercial traffic to and from
Boston via the West Boston Bridge. Furthermore, the Charles River provided an easy transp01iation
route for goods between Cambridgep01i and Boston. By the nlid-1800s Central Square had developed
into a major commercial center extending from Inman Street to Windsor Street. By 1865, a large
majority of shops and stores stood along Main Street and Massachusetts Avenue. Furthermore, efforts
were undetiaken to develop the Lower P01i, the area along the causeway and canals. In the 1830s the
area was depicted as unimproved salt marsh except for a cluster of seven buildings at the junction ofthe
causeway and Broadway. Over the next 20 years several wharves were constructed along the causeway
near present-day Kendall Square. These wharves were used for trade in lumber, coal, and stone. Harvard
Square continued as the primaty civic center of the city. Brickyards were established around Nmih
Cambridge, utilizing glacial clay deposits in that at'ea.
One of the biggest draws to industly in Cambridgeport at1d East Cambridge was the coming of the
railroad. As early as 1848, the Union Railroad Company was incorporated and charged with building
a railroad from the Fitchburg line in Somerville to the Boston and Worcester Railroad in Brookline,
running through the marshlands to Main Street and then across the marches to the Charles River and a
bridge into Brookline. The Union Railroad Company never proceeded with the construction and in
1853 the francmse was sold to the newly f01med Grand Junction Railroad and Depot Company. The
Grand Junction began construction immediately and service commenced in 1855. Service was Shmi
lived, ceasing within a yeat'. The railroad did not operate again until 1866 when the Boston and Worcester
Railroad took over the beleaguered francmse.
Despite the lack of service, the presence of the railroad sparked industrial growth, and created large
expanses of land for potential development. The rail lines skitied the settled areas, rurtning on large
embankments across the marshes. These embankments served as a levee, creating dry mat'shland separate
from the Chat'les River, which represented inexpensive land for development. The mid-nineteenth
century witnessed increased industrial development of the local economy. In addition to the brick and
ice industries of North Cambridge, glass, candy, printing, furniture, and meat packing emerged in East
PAL Report No. 1936.01
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Chapter Five
and central Cambridge. By the 1860s, Cambridge became a center of heavy industry. One of the first
industries was Kendall and Davis, which shipped boilers and steam plants to all parts of the country.
Other industries included the Broadway Iron Foundry (1864); Boston Bridge Works (1876); Rawson
and Morrison, which produced machinery for coal mining; Lamb and Ritchie, galvanized steel pipe;
and George F. Blake (1889), producing pumping engines for watelworks. Most ofthe industrial growth
occurred along Main Street and Broadway between the West Boston Bridge and the end of the Broad
Canal near POliland Street. By the 1870s, sugar was the leading manufactured product in Cambridge,
followed by pianos and organs.
The lands south of Cambridge Street were gradually filled and built upon throughout the remainder of
the nineteenth century. The lands nOlih ofCan1bridge Street continued to be used primarily for industrial
purposes and related worker's housing during the same period. Additional filling was done into the
Millers River to create some additional land for buildings and reinforced wharf structures to provide
for the impOli and export of raw materials and finished products. Between 1832 and 1854 four main
line railroads crossed the area north of Bridge Street across the tidal flats on trestles. These lines
included the Boston & Lowell chaliered in 1830, the Grand Junction Railroad & Depot Company in
1846, the Union Railroad in 1848, and the Boston & Worcester in 1853. The Boston & Lowell Railroad
was the first to enter Boston from the nOlih. In 1832 it ran a line across East Cambridge between
Bridge Street and the New England Glass Company to a terminal near the Prison Point Bridge. In 1873
this same line filled in one acre along the river to enlal'ge its freight yards, which required the construction
of 500 feet of seawall and 900 feet of wooden bulkhead (Maycock 1988).
Late Industrial Period (1870-1915)
The nineteenth century also saw the physical expansion of the Charles River shoreline in Can1bridge
along both sides ofthe West Boston Bridge. Between 1860 and 1910 extensive efforts were undertaken
to fill and raise lands. With the railroad the area east of Brookline Street was a desirable industrial
sector and the city began filling parts of the conidor. At the same time, mal'shland near Putnam and
Western avenues was being reclaimed for residential purposes. EffOlis to fill lands east of the railroad
embankment were slow and sporadic until an infusion ofprivate capital 1881, with the incorporation of
the Chal'les River Embankment COmpal1Y. The idea of an embankment was fOlwarded by Charles
DavenpOli, who as eal'ly as 1840 was systematically acquiring title to the flats. The company was
empowered to construct a seawall, fill the lands, and develop them for residential purposes. Most
impOliantly, the company was to layout an esplanade 200 feet wide along the river. In 1883, Chal'les
DavenpOli and other members of the corporation transfened their private lands to the corporation and
the project was statied.
The city, realizing the importance of the embankment project for its own benefit agreed to assist. In
1882, the legislature authorized the cities of Boston and Cambridge to build another bridge across the
Charles River. The City ofCan1bridge also entered into an agreement with the Charles River Embankment
Company to not assess taxes during construction in return for a guarantee from the company to embank
and convey to the city an esplanade along the river and land for the bridge approach (CHC 1971). In
1890, the Hal'vard Bridge was completed. In 1893 a granite wall was erected and filling ofthe banks of
the Charles River commenced. Filling was accomplished through dredging of the river. This was in
contrast to earlier filling operations that used gravels from upland areas. Work stopped in 1893 when
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the embankment company collapsed during the depression. Large expanses of ponded areas remained
to be filled. In 1912, the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology relocated its campus from Boston to the
filled flats on the north bank of the Charles River, bringing an influx of economic benefits to the area
(electronic, engineering, scientific, and industrial research firms).
In 1887 the Railroad leased the Boston & Lowell for a telm of 99 years. This lease led to increased
filling in the Millers River and additional land acquisitions for railroad expansions west of East Street.
By 1886 tracks, roundhouses, and auxiliary railroad buildings covered most ofthe land on both sides of
Prison Point Street (Maycock 1988). Over the next 20 years, the Boston & Maine bought property
between the tracks and Bridge Street, greatly increasing its landholdings in East Cambridge and making
itself a major force in the changing landscape (Maycock 1988).
In 1918 the Boston & Lowell was officially merged into the Boston & Maine Railroad Company.
Within three years it expanded even fmiher west into the West End Street Railway Company generating
station property, which had been set up in the former glass factory buildings between Water, ShOli, and
North Streets and the Millers River. The railroad demolished the large brick smoke stack and all the
remaining factory buildings including the Revere Sugar Refinery, which had moved into the block west
of Water Street in 1871. In the late 1920s Bridge Street was widened on both sides and designated the
NOlihem Artery. At the same time the railroad completed its demolition of all the remaining factories
and tenement houses that once stood north of the Boston & Lowell tracks (Maycock 1988).
Modern Period (i91S-present)
The Modem Period witnessed the continued expansion of the city's residential grid, interconnecting
East Cambridge with North Cambridge. Rail, subway, and trolley services expanded and remained
intact into the twentieth century. The Charles River embankment was improved as an auto parkway
(Memorial Drive) with a period bridge across the Charles at River and Westem avenues. The reclamation
of the Charles River waterfront was intended to result in residential blocks and Memorial Drive was
laid out with that intent. It follows the original concept of Charles Elliot and others for a continuous
parkway along the Can1bridge side ofthe Charles River Basin. Many ofthe nineteenth-centmy industries
continued to prosper including printing, confectionaty, bakely, fumiture, soap, rubber goods, electrical
machinery, and foundry and machine shop products (MHC n.d.). Most ofthese industries were suppOlied
by increased productions during the two World Wars.
Following World War II mat1Y of the local industries, particularly those in East Cambridge, went out of
business or moved. By the 1970s the city was dominated by empty buildings and pat'king lots, and
major demolition oflarge industrial structures had begun (Maycock 1988). Since that time, the city has
undertaken extensive community redevelopment and planning programs to rezone many of the earlier
industrial blocks into mixed residential and commercial uses. The Lechmere Triangle and Kendall
Square were two of the lat'gest redevelopment projects initiated in East Cambridge in the 1980s. The
projects involved the rebuilding ofmany local streets including First Street, Monsignor O'Brien Highway,
Can1bridge Street, Commercial Avenue, and Binney Street. The old drawbridge over the Lechn1ere
Canal was also replaced with a stone-faced steel at'ch structure at1d more parkland was created along
Can1bridge Parkway (Maycock 1988).
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Chelsea
Plantation Period (A.D. 1620-1675)
The European settlement of Chelsea began about 1625 with the alTival of Samuel Maverick, who
constructed an early English trading post on the Mystic River tidelands. By the 1630s, the Winnisimmet
Ferry, one of the earliest felTies to operate in New England, created a landing site around Maverick's
farm. The ferry provided efficient passage to the Shawmut peninsula from the first county road, known
as the Salem Turnpike, which ended at the ferry slip. The ferry service operated until about 1917. The
original landing site in Chelsea was located on Samuel Maverick's estate near Admiral Hill (MHC
1980d).
During the mid-seventeenth century, there was a division ofthe Maverick estate by Richard Bellingham,
deputy governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, for tenant fmmers around Chelsea. By the end of the
period, four farms were established that probably fixed the population at no more than 50 until the early
part of the nineteenth century. The economy at the time was limited by subsistence agriculture and
fishing. Native trails were improved as local highways with the primary route from Lynn and Malden
as Washington Street to the early ferry landing (MHC 1980d).
Colonial Period (1675-1775)
The population in Chelsea remained relatively constm1t during the Colonial Period. The agricultural
economy ofthe town continued to be limited to farming and some fishing. Local native trails remained
from the seventeenth century to Winnisimmet ferry landing as Washington Pm'k streets (MHC 1980d).
Two schools were constructed during the Colonial Period, one between 1709 and 1739, at the town
center, and the other, in 1749, at Winnisimmet.
Federal Period (1775-1830)
By the early nineteenth centuly, a tavern settlement was created at the Broadway bridgehead, after the
opening of the Chelsea Bridge to Charlestown. An additional settlement center was created at the
Naval Hospital complex on the original Maverick Farm site. During this period, there was a secondary
focus around the Pratt Farm on Washington Avenue at the head of Mill Creek.
The population of Chelsea was stable during this period with only 30 people lived within the present
limits of the city, The Chelsea Bridge and Salem Turnpike Company established a toll bridge to
Charlestown. Despite this new route, the town was known only as a mm'ket garden and thoroughfare.
Brickmaking was the central industty during the period. Transportation improvements included access
to Boston via the Chelsea Bridge over the Mystic River from Charlestown, with an extension ofBroadway
from the bridgehead as the Salem Turnpike between Mount Bellingham and Powder Horn Hill (MHC
1980d).
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Early Industrial Period (1830-1870)
The Chelsea waterfront supported most of the town's manufacturing businesses during this period, in
addition to commerce already present at the town's docks and wharves. These industries were served
by the growing rail line that transpOlted raw materials and finished goods. Transportation-related
construction included steam ferry service to East Boston and rail line connections with Boston, LylID,
Everett, and East Boston. Chelsea suppOlted various manufacturing plants, including an India Rubber
factOlY, wallpaper producers, clay works, brickyards, elastic webbing manufacturers, and paint companies
and related industries. Also present during this period were five shipyards along Chelsea's waterfront
(MHC 1980d).
Late Industrial Period (1870-1915)
Chelsea's population continued to rise rapidly, as increasing industrialization attracted large numbers
of inm1igrant workers. In 1890, inm1igrants had amounted to 28.5 percent of the city's population,
mostly from the British Isles and Canada. By 1908 Chelsea had become the most heavily populated
city in the United States in proportion to its area, and by 1915 Chelsea's immigrant population increased
to 84 percent (MHC 1980d).
Industrial development continued during this peliod, with 155 manufacturing establishments in operation
by 1870. The leading industry at the time was leather currying, followed closely by the manufacturing
of elastic webs, linseed oil and oil cakes, stoves and furnaces, and cigars and tobacco. The 1890s saw
a large influx of new industries including foundries, machine shops, several large shoe factories, a
rubber company, and a manufacturer of the first flexible tubing for electrical wire.
By 1900 the institution of fire codes in Boston's North End and the reduction of the ferry company's
fare to 3 cents prompted an influx of llm1igrant merchants into Chelsea. During this period, Chelsea
became the center of the rag and junk industty. On April 12, 1908, a fire began in Chelsea's industrial
district. By the time it had been completely extinguished, the fire had burned through the industrial
district, across the town center, and into the neighborhood on Mount Bellingham. Nearly half the city
was destroyed and fifteen thousand people were left homeless. Chelsea faced an enOlmous rebuilding
project, one that would change the face of the town's industrial and residential structure. By the late
nineteenth centuty, there was futther expansion of the streetcar service from Chelsea Center, with local
routes on Central Street to East Boston, Everett Street to Everett, and Hancock Washington streets to
Revere.
Modern Period (1915-present)
While residential development was slow, the rebuilding and expansion of industrial properties was
extensive. These activities were centered at the Island End River and the Chelsea Creek. The two
industries that are most illustrative of this early- to mid-twentieth-century growth are the shoe
manufacturing and oil transpOltation industries. In 1930, there were 15 active shoe manufacturers in
Chelsea, with one of the largest, A.G. Walton & Company, employing 1,000 workers. At least five oil
companies constructed terminals during the Modem Period, including the Texas Company, American
Oil, and Gulf Oil. Into the mid twentieth centmy, the Broadway axis remained the civic and commercial
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center of Chelsea, though a secondmy area of commercial use was developing along the Revere Beach
Parkway (MHC 1980d).
The population of Chelsea continued to grow into the third decade of the twentieth century, peaking in
1925 at 47,247. It then began a gradual decline into the 1970s, when, in 1975, it fell to 25,006. Since
then, the number has climbed again, reaching 35,080 in 2000, likely as a result of the growing financial
and technology-related cm'eer mm'kets in metropolitan Boston (MDHCD n.d.; MHC 1980d).
Transportation systems in Chelsea followed nationwide trends in the Modem Period. Railroads
dominated land transpOliation throughout the first three decades of the century, then began a decline as
the automobile captured an increasingly large share of the market. Trolley routes, once numerous
between Chelsea and Boston, also were affected by the rise of the automobile. Beginning in 1900, the
Revere Beach Parkway was constructed tlu'ough Chelsea, though it was 1934 before it was widened to
reach its cunent configuration (MDC 2002). The Parkway has long been one of the most heavily used
roadways in the Boston area, and certainly in Chelsea.
Everett
Plantation Period (A.D. 1620-1675)
European settlement of the Everett area began in the 163 Os, likely along the tidal lands of the Island
End River. The population of the area grew slowly, probably amounting to not more than a dozen
families by 1675. The primmy industries of the settlers of the m'ea were subsistence agriculture and
fishing pursuits (MHC 1981c).
Transportation in the settlement was canied out primarily on Native American trails, some of which
connected to neighboring settlements. An early ferry between the settlement and Charlestown was
operated at the site of the Malden Bridge, just south of the confluence of the Mystic and Malden rivers
(MHC 1981c).
Colonial Period (1675-1775)
The Colonial Period in the settlement was not greatly differentiated from the First Settlement Period.
The slight growth of the population tlu'oughout the period was similar to that in neighboring towns,
with the total population of Malden, Melrose, and Everett at 983 persons by 1765. Agriculture and
fishing on a subsistence level remained the most impOliant activities of the small group of settlers. In
addition, some agricultural products began to be shipped to Boston by feny (MHC 1981 c).
Transportation routes during the period remained largely the legacy of Native American activity in the
area, with little improvement or new road construction. Architectural development in the period consisted
primarily of small, wood-frame cottages, in addition to the construction of a new meetinghouse at
Belmont Hill (MHC 1981 c).
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Federal Period (1775-1830)
Absent ofany defInite population fIgures for the Federal Period, it can be extrapolated that the population
continued to expand slowly in the years between 1775 and 1830. Fewer than 50 houses were present in
South Malden (later Everett) in 1835. The construction of the Malden Bridge in 1787 and the
Newburyport Turnpike in 1806 spuned the development of Everett Square at the beginning of the
nineteenth century. Industrial development began in South Malden in the last decades ofthe eighteenth
century. The production of brick and some shoemaking activities were the fIrst industries to develop in
the town (MHC 1981c).
Early Industrial Period (1830-1870)
The Early Industrial Period in South Malden saw the birth of some industries, however, large-scale
industrial growth would not come until the 1880s and 1890s. From outside of the town, railroads
anived as the precursors of the new industrial age. In 1854, the Eastern Railroad was extended into
Boston via a bridge across the Mystic River. In the following decades, railroad development along the
Malden and Island End rivers would accompany industrial growth (MHCI981c).
While brickmaking remained the primary manufacturing activity in the town throughout the middle of
the century, a tide mill and rope walk was in operation prior to the an'ival of the railroads. No other
signifIcant industrial concerns were started in South Malden until after the Civil War. In 1868, Everett's
legacy as a chemical producer began when the New England Chemical Company opened (Hengen
1983; MHC 1981c).
Pedestrian transport was maintained during the period by improvements made to extant highways and
the introduction of some new roads in newly developed areas. Turnpikes provided travelers with the
best routes, however, their owners charged a premium for passage. While railroads traversed longer
lUllS, horse railways linked the Malden Bridge to Boston and traveled into some of the neighborhoods,
linking South Malden to the city (MHC 1981c).
Though subdivision of tracts offalmland had begun as early as 1845, the introduction of the railroads
and other tral1sportation improvements of the mid-nineteenth century fostered residential growth in
South Malden. The 1859 cessation of tolls on the Malden Bridge also contributed to the expansion of
residential propeliy. Despite these factors, population growth in South Malden was slow throughout
the mid-nineteenth century. The population of South Malden in 1850 was approximately 1,600 persons,
and had risen to 2,200 by 1870, when the city of Everett was incorporated (MHC 1981c).
Late Industrial Period (1870-1915)
The Late Industrial Period was the period during which Everett both fonnally CaIne into existence and
came of age. In 1870, South Malden was incorporated as the town of Everett. In 1893, Everett became
a city. The population of the town increased dramatically throughout the period, becoming one of the
fastest growing towns in the state. The population of 2,200 doubled between 1870 and 1880, then
nearly tripled in the next decade before doubling again between 1890 and 1900. By 1915 the population
of Everett had reached 37,718 persons. Though fueled pal1ially by the continued expansion of streetcar
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Chapter Five
lines into Everett, the population increases were largely tied to increases in industrialization (MHC
1981c).
Industrialization in Everett was both a cause and result of the population explosion. As the population
of the town increased, industrial concerns were more easily able to find employees, which grew the
industrial sector, causing more people to come to Everett seeking employment. Approximately 28
percent of the 1905 population of Everett was foreign born, with a large portion of these employed in
industrial jobs. Other important factors in the industrialization ofthe town included its separation from
Malden and incorporation as a city, proximity to Boston, and the availability of land close to two rail
lines for shipment of both raw materials and finished goods (MHC 1981c).
Major industries to establish themselves in Everett during the period included chemical manufacturing
(begun in 1868), paint and varnish production, iron and steel working, and gas, oil, and coke products.
Among the steel works of the period was Norton Iron, begun in 1892, and later to become the New
England Structural Company, a major supplier of bridges and steel for buildings. In the 1890s, New
England Gas and Coke and Boston Consolidated Gas constructed major works on the shores of the
Mystic River. In the last 10 years of the period, a nun1ber of concerns opened facilities in Everett,
including three shoe factories, and manufacturers of tin cans, ornamental iron, elevators, paper and
twine, and shoe shanks (MHC 1981c). The workers in Everett's new industrial core moved into a city
where housing stock was increasing at a rapid rate. With the alTival of extensive streetcar service
throughout Everett in the 1880s, residential areas outside of the industrial core became more popular.
Modern Period (1915-present)
The city of Everett continued to grow into the twentieth century as its population experienced rapid
growth up to 1930. Between 1925 and 1930 the population grew on average of 1,300 persons per year,
however, after 1930 the population began to decline. The decline has continued throughout the twentieth
century, with the exception of the years of World War II. Only the 1945 population has exceeded the
population peak set in 1930 at 48,424 persons (Hengen 1983). In 2000, the population of Everett was
recorded at 38,037 persons (MDHCD 2002).
The city is primarily centered upon a commercial and industrial base, with manufacturing accounting
for approximately 31 percent of the city's jobs. Everett appears to have been largely passed over in the
competition for technology-driven company locations in the late twentieth centwy, as it continues to
rely on the staples of its twentieth-century progress. Because of its ability to support a dense population
and the remaining manufactw'ing interests in the city, Everett remains an imp0l1ant suburb of Boston.
Medford
Plantation/Colonial Period (A.D. 1620-1775)
Settlement in Medford did not begin in earnest until the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centw'ies
coincident with the Colonial Period. The Colonial Period began with the expansion of the existing
transp0l1ation routes. Other improvements to the transportation network included the erection of the
Cradock Bridge, at the location of the Mystic River ford. By 1753 Medford was granted the land
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reaching up to Stoneham's present day southern border. The eastern margin of the Middlesex Fells in
what is now Stoneham, northern Medford, and Melrose became a focal point of settlement in the late
seventeenth and early eighteenth century. A small settlement focus suppOlied by the increase in traffic
afforded by the Cradock Bridge developed in Medford Square (MHC 1981 d). This village included a
meetinghouse and a tavern (Tufts 1794).
In 1707 Medford's population included approximately 230 individuals. TIlls number grew to include
about 800 individuals representing some 147 families by 1775 (MHC 1981 d). Agriculture continued to
support Medford's population while early industries including distilling and brickmaking gained in
importance. The local water sources supplied power for several mills on Meetinghouse Brook and the
Mystic River during the Period. The timber resources of the Middlesex Fells continued to supply
materials for local construction.
Federal Period (1775-1830)
The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries saw an increase in Medford's economic endeavors
and moderate population growth. By the end of the Federal Period, Medford's residents numbered
1,755 (MHC 1981 d). Improvements to local transportation routes characterized the early portion ofthe
period. The Middlesex Canal, completed in 1803, facilitated the transport of lumber, produce, and
granite from northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire to the Boston markets. Construction of the
Medford to Andover Turnpike in 1806 linked other communities to regional markets.
Medford's commercial and industrial center situated around Medford Square continued to expand with
commercial development afforded by the Medford Turnpike and local industries situated along the
Mystic River and Middlesex Canal. The area outside ofthe impOliant transportation networks remained
largely undeveloped.
In 1802 Thatcher Magoun of Pembroke established a shipyard at Medford along the banks ofthe Mystic
River (MOlTison 1923). In 1804 Calvin Turner of Scituate joined Magoun in the construction oflarge
ships and brigs. By the early nineteenth century, Magoun had built a reputation that equated "Medford­
built" ships with the best (MotTison 1923). The Medford Shipbuilders utilized large quantities of
timber (oaks and pines) obtained from Turkey Swamp in the Middlesex Fells as well as from nOlihern
sources transported down the Middlesex Canal in the construction of their vessels. Other Medford
industries included rum distilleries, brickmaking, and hat production. Local industry was complimented
tlu'ough agriculture, raising stock cattle, and milk production for Charlestown and Boston (MHC 1981 d).
Early Industrial Period (1830-1870)
The Early Industrial Period in Medford coincided with the introduction of the railroads. During this
time the Boston and Lowell railroad (1835), a branch route connecting Medford Square with the Boston
and Maine line (1845), and horse railroad (1860) were all constructed within Medford's limits facilitating
the transport of goods and people. The railroads' efficiency oftransport resulted in the abandonnlent of
the Middlesex Canal in 1840s. Coincident with improvements to Medford's transportation networks
was a rapid rise in the town's population between 1830 and 1855. By the end of the period nearly 15
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percent ofMedford's populace was foreign-born immigrants consisting ofprimarily Irish (MHC 1981 d).
With the rise in population came the founding of Tufts University in 1852.
Medford Square and areas along the Mystic River continued as Medford's commerciaVindustrial centers.
The Early Industrial Period saw the rapid peak and sudden decline of Medford's shipbuilding and
brickmaking industries. Medford's shipbuilding industly peaked ca. 1855 with more than one thousand
hands employed in the trade. At about the same time, brickmaking peaked with 24 brickyards in
operation. Little more than a decade later the number of shipbuilders was drastically reduced to only 35
men working in one yard and closed in 1873 (MHC 1981d).
A similar decline was experienced in Medford's brickmaking induStly with only one yard in operation
by 1875. Granite quanying at Pine Hill along with the production of linseed oil, hats, and especially
rum was also important elements of Medford's economy in the mid-nineteenth centmy. Emerging
textile-related industries including a cloth printworks (1863) and a carpet factory (1866) were introduced
in Medford during the latter period (MHC 1981d).
Late Industrial Period (1870-1915)
Despite a decline and viltual disappearance of Medford's shipbuilding and rum industries, Medford's
population continued to grow rapidly reaching 30,509 by 1915. Although Late Industrial Period (1870
- 1915)the railroads remained in operation, improvements to local transportation systems involved the
installation of electric street railway system connecting Winchester, Stoneham, and Medford with
Wakefield, Woburn, Arlington, and the city of Boston and the replacement of the Cradock Bridge in
1880. With the growing population there was a concurrent expansion in Medford's residential
developments and workers' housing blocks. In 1892 Medford was established as a city (MHC 1981 d).
Medford Square continued as Medford's primmy commercial core. Brickmaking and gold leaf
manufacture were impOltant industries to Medford in the latter nineteenth century. More than $45,000
of gold leaf was produced in 1875 while the Medford brickmakers produced over 15 million bricks in
1890. Other Medford industries included a carpet manufacturer, a carriage manufacturer, a chemical
works, a brass factOly, and a covered button manufacturer (MHC 1981 d).
Modern Period (1915-present)
During the Early Modem Period, improved highway access and increasing use of automobiles rather
than earlier street railway systems contributed to the expansion of suburban residential development.
During this time Medford experienced steady population growth reaching approximately 67,000 by
1945. Local commercial industries including the textile, gold leaf, cOlTugated paper box industries
continued to SUppOlt Medford. Throughout the twentieth century Medford developed as a diverse
business community, as well as thriving residential suburb to Boston (MHC 1981 d).
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Somerville
Plantation Period (A.D. 1620-1675)
The land of present-day Somerville was a part of the original Charlestown Grant of 1630, and was first
settled by Europeans soon after that date. For much of this period it is likely that the population of the
area was less than a dozen families. Native American trails were used by these families as transpOliation
conidors. The settlers of the area also relied on the rivers for food, both for subsistence and for profit,
and faimed and grazed cattle as well. By the 1630s, a few local falms had been established in the al'ea
(MHC 1980e).
Colonial Period (1675-1775)
The importance of the Somerville area during the Colonial Period was centered upon its land and the
use of it. Grazing lands for Charlestown remained in the Somerville portion of the town throughout the
period, and farming further developed with the expansion of dairying and vegetable production. Both
Charlestown Center and Boston were markets for the products of Somerville's farms. Typical rural
industries also developed in the Somerville section of Charlestown during the period, including
brickmaking and slate quanies. To move the products from the falms to markets, the seventeenth­
century roads that ran throughout the area were improved and new routes to Charlestown were added
(MHC 1980e).
The population ofthe farming area also increased during the period, reaching approximately 500 by the
start of the American Revolution. Houses for these families were simple, timber frame buildings, with
a gable or gan1brel roof and a center chimney. The only documented industrial structure is a windmill
that was constructed about 1710 (MHC 1980e).
Federal Period (1775-1830)
The Federal Period in Somerville was largely an extension ofColonial Period patterns. Fal111ing remained
as the chief economic pursuit of the populous, with milk production and stock raising as the primary
foci. Brickmaking continued to be one of the most important manufacturing activities of the day, with
the focus of the industty along the Medford Turnpike (MHC 1980e).
With the opening ofthe Middlesex Canal in 1803, the Somerville pali of Charlestown was able to ship
material west as far as Lowell much more efficiently thal1 it could by road, thus opening new markets
for its products. With the construction of several bridges from Charlestown across the Charles River to
Boston and across the Mystic River, markets for Somerville goods also expanded. In addition,
transportation became easier because the bridges prompted the construction ofmore tumpikes throughout
the town (MHC 1980e).
Early Industrial Period (1830-1870)
The Early Industrial Period was the first period ofsignificant growth in Somerville. In 1842 Somerville
became an independent town, prompting the stali of a development phase that would last for almost a
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century. Between 1842 and 1850 the population of Somerville tripled, reaching 3,540 persons. In each
ofthe next two decades the population of the town nearly doubled. Immigrants made up a large portion
of this increase, with Irish immigrants alone constituting 18 percent of the population in 1865 (MHC
1980e).
The key to maintaining Somerville as a successful town throughout the period was the arrival of the
railroads. In 1835, the Boston and Lowell Railroad made its way across Somerville to the Charlestown
station. In 1841 the Fitchburg Railroad crossed the town, followed by the Boston and Maine Railroad
in 1845. The railroads became the new development centers as small factories and meat packing plants
were constmcted alongside them. The Miller's River, separating Somerville from Cambridge, succumbed
to the development, being gradually filled in and covered with railroad yards. Manufacturing grew
rapidly throughout the period, aided by the economical and efficient movement of raw materials and
finished goods provided by the railroads.
In 1851, the American Tube Works was established in Somerville, leading to the manufacture of the
first seamless brass tubes in the United States. Rolling and slitting mills, ironworks, and the manufacture
of steam engines and boilers marked the entrance of heavy industry to Somerville. The constant flow
of livestock and dailY products through Somerville led to the establishment ofa number ofmeatpacking
plants in the town. The NOlih Meat Packing Plant was, by the 1890s, reputed to be the largest packing
plant outside of Chicago. Other types of food processing plants also took advantage of the rapid
movements of raw goods, including distilleries, vinegar works, and bakeries (MHC 1980e).
Late Industrial Period (1870-1915)
The Late Industrial Period was marked by the establishment of Somerville as an independent city in
1872, and by a tremendous population and building boom. Between 1870 and 1915, the population
increased sixfold. Irish immigrants topped the list ofnewcomers, making up 27 percent ofthe population
by 1905. Nova Scotia and English-speaking Canada also contributed large segments of the immigrant
population (MHC 1980e).
The economic expansion that occurred nationwide in the wake of the Civil War was evident in
metropolitan Boston, including Somerville. Though the panic of 1873 put a tempormy end to the
growth, it recovered in the mid-1880s to cany the rapidly developing town into the twentieth centmy.
Both immigration and building constmction in Somerville recovered from the panic, with almost half
of Somerville's residential constmction said to have occurred between 1890 and 1900 (MHC 1980e).
Commercial centers located at Union and Davis squares also continued to grow during the period.
The building trades flourished during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as evidenced by
the significant number of building tradesmen, lumbelyards, and woodworking shops listed in town
directories of the era. Among the woodworking enterprises were coffin makers, picture frame
manufacturers, and makers of tables, museum cases, and furniture. Other associated industries were
brass foundries and makers of architectural hardware, window shades, and tinware (MHC 1980e).
Somerville's residential density was increased greatly during the Late Industrial Period, with centers of
single- and multi-family housing, rowhouses, and apmiments. The continued expansion of Boston's
100
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
influence was partially responsible for this, as businesses and their employees left Boston, and as services
reached out farther from the city. Of particular note was the expansion of electric trolley lines into the
suburban towns, including Somerville. Efficient trolleys allowed people to live farther from their jobs
and commercial areas, and resulted in the subdivision and residential building up of previously vacant
areas (MHC 1980e).
The building trades were not the only flourishing economic area. The meatpacking industry continued
to lead all others in Somerville, with nearly twice the value of all other manufactured goods combined
in 1875. Brick production peaked in 1870 and then began to decline over the remainder of the period.
This was a nationwide trend, however, as the boom of the years immediately after the Civil War began
to slow. With the panic of 1873, the industry was devastated and the last brickyard in Somerville closed
in 1902. Vast railyards were also constructed during the period, centered along the Miller's and Mystic
rivers (MHC 1980e).
Modern Period (1915-present)
Following the vast transformations of the Late Industrial Period, Somerville began a decline to average
levels in the twentieth century. The remaining open land in Somerville was quickly developed in the
1920s, after which, building construction in Somerville slowed dramatically. The slowing ofconstruction
in the city is reflected in the population statistics of Somerville for the Modem Period. Until 1930 the
population continued to expand, reaching 103,908 in that year. It declined over the next decade, but
peaked for the final time during World War II, when 105,883 persons, many employees of the Ford
Motors plant, were living in Somerville. The post-war decline brought the population down to 80,569
in 1975, the equivalent of the 1912 population. In 2000, the population had fallen to 77,478 persons
(MDHCD 2003; MHC 1980e).
Industrialization continued to increase until 1930, likely resulting in the population increase to that
date. Of the 145 manufacturing establishments in the city in 1930, 75 percent ofthem had located there
since 1900 (MHC 1980e). Meat processing continued to be the leading industry in the city. The Ford
plant would later become the largest employer in the city, before closing in 1957, at the end of the
production run of the 1958 Edsel. At the end of the twentieth century, Somerville had added
telecommunications and hi-tech industries to its manufacturing, trade, and service industries, and more
than 20,000 people worked in the city (City of Somerville 2003).
The automobile revolutionized transportation during the mid- and late twentieth century. Rail and
trolley routes remained into the middle of the century as automobiles gained in popularity. In the
1930s, the Metropolitan District Commission constructed the McGrath and O'Brien highways, and the
Alewife Brook! Mystic Valley Parkway, all of which remain today. The MBTA subway connects
Somerville to Boston and other suburbs.
Known and Expected Post-Contact Period Resources
Historical maps and landmaking studies of the greater Boston area reveal that original land surfaces
traversed by the Urban Ring COlTidor consisted of uplands, marsh, and open water (Seasholes 2003;
Krieger and Cobb 1999; see Figure 5-4). The present-day configuration of Boston and the sUlTounding
PAL Report No. 1936.01
101
Chapter Five
area is the result ofhuman modification ofthe natural topography through cutting and filling. Beginning
in the early nineteenth century, numerous episodes of cutting and filling occun-ed to expand the existing
land surfaces that enabled urban expansion in the greater Boston area (Figure 5-5). The original Boston
peninsula was approximately 487 acres and is now sUlTOunded by approximately 500 acres of made
land, doubling the size of Boston Proper (Figure 5-6). Other sections ofthe city including Charlestown,
East Boston and South Boston have also been significantly enlarged due to landmaking. Areas were
created for residential land, pOli development, public parks, and transpOliation facilities including Logan
Airport (Seasholes 2003).
BOSTON
Pelham! mllp
D~JCription
loIlml
Jndictlled buJH~avu line.
FllledA"eo
Indlcalcd by cros~ hatching­
-
. ~
,)y')
'~
0/ J\1 ap
THE FILLED·lN .'..RE.\S OF BOSTON
.
Bonoll hu trcl:lr in{lUHd ill
Tne o~rinal UN il 11l1.:1llr finn .u
;1.Ie.1
;a;
br ~mn~ b~rt. coni. Inti 'illlea.
H.rta. Ttlt fined·in b,n:h Idd be.
ta'un :!1l~: .nd {u:lr limel (bl! I=Unl. DlltJ and .m:JOJn:1 ";"(:1 beiol"
He Ippro.l.irnalc 0:11)' 11 rKorel do M: I,rc( bHinl been mldc It .:liner.
~z:~~~~~::~'~~I::;:;~~:~I~:;~~~I~;'i:::~~~~:i~u~~~np~lrl~~p:~~
I. BoI~" BI~·. lr.Y.IUn: lbo-.n il0 I:ru. moulr dane Ifar 1856 Ind
.
c~:Ili."II:t<d Ul IS1J~.
it: li~i. Welt CO\"e, ItnOI,Int I~l 50 I.:n:. be!".:!: in ISOl Ind :crn;.!c:ed
~. ::Iolill CO"'-c. uno.:nl llout 'i) I~tl. bnun in n~ .:nd COQ"lttd
~~. I:jlf;'t~'~i ~:>.~~inhl:i;:i~lIh ci
IIH UUlt.-.l.!' (inJi"ud
com~~I~ti~ ~;rH Cun:.
.:bo·.n 111
.:r:\OIlr.:
Ut(l.
\)Q
It;
t:Uj)
~.:e i.., IE!j lnd
, . . - - - - . : : : . - - - - ' i::l l~J~ulh CC\-C:. u::o-.:n: .:bout fS lUN_ ~.:m in IS06 .:nd cOIr.pl:::J
!t.~b~p.[:~;!:r~f,\:t,:~!j:;?~~~;~::~I~·irl~g::;~\~~
pltU~~' Soulr. Bl~" lmOllnl ~bou: 1J3 .':Hl. bt!'lIn in 18;0.
/lOt
ret Ctlm.
6. ~ulh Bmlon. lmO\Jnt lboul 71-1 1:1(1. bc~\l1l in 13J6. uill ill PfO{:U.
7. ~hrine PHI.:. • (Quiled ill 18£3, lbout i7 Hrd: brioji'e to wll!e
hl.:r.d, Jul)" I. 1591. inclu'::d in Stw:h Bolton nIiin;. .
~n~ t~I~'S:-\i{'1ij~'~I:~t::~!I~'\~:;Y~~o;'1~iiin'::U: liO mN io
19!3.
I"!tt~·.
tOm.
£.zil
&u:on. .amoun: .:bo.lt ;70 Icr«. krJ:l ill ISSO. ll:l: ~'e:
10. Chul:JlOU"n...
pleUnt Ilue
Jbo.J[
U1iCX.nt
IS~b.
,I~t .16 ;:ru. t-toUn lu..o. C'C.'Ti'lett'd [~
II. C&Jr:'ln.:i P.all: ,"th Strl:lli,,"l~·• .a~nl .about ;'5; ,IUU• .acGlli,td,
South Bollen tJli.r. u fin.A lixwc.
1~1901: put d
of
. .\!I::h
thl' ~l!ir.t t:C.aulrid fo: tbe. Blc~ Ray d~t1Kt came from
~cdla:n: the ConltHt~fl. Coli Ind :\I.:noo.:... b-.liTt itx llliiu of nilrod D
hciJiutt uun~o~u:ic:t_ Tr.c miU po::d 1<"11 :\U~ frnm :r.~ nminr Gown o!
Sultry (Bu(O."l.! ud Cm.:)1'\ tP~:n~r1G<1I Hi:!.. 1ne \rut Cove ..u
5.UeJ ic pUt fr~:n l1':: c­. . 1unr CO'<I'II of Wei: Hill o.ll. \·u:'Io::ll. fOf: Hill
!1iE~~;"~ig;2~g~~~~:~;;~~:~~;;SF~:~:~~';~::~:~~
Figure 5-5. Nineteenth-century filling episodes with approximate location of Urban Ring Corridor (source:
Mrozowski 1985).
Table 5-2 provides an inventory of recorded post-contact period archaeological sites within and in
close proximity to the Urban Ring Con-idol'. It is expected that belowground evidence of recorded sites
as well as additional documented resources based on historical maps and underdocumented resources
from the seventeenth through late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries could be present in belowground
strata within sensitive sections of the project conidor. Resource types could range from residential
(early falmsteads to urban dwellings), conunercial, industrial, and transportation-related resources both
in terrestrial and riverine environments.
102
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
~
'~ ~:;1~
Hog Island
~
-
'7(
-=fl
J~,
Noddles
Island
.~?~H
Mill
WEST
END
END
COVE
COV~\EACONShawmut ~OWN
\.
Hill
COVE
Peninsula
fORT
lUll
I
OLD SOUTH
END
~
~r.
,. "'" ~J ~ '"
1~~y~~' {
'-.~,§{ · ~
~
o
APPle
Is.
Governors
SJ
WIIIOMIU
PT.
\
~~~
Back Bay
~\
)
<;Ieasue
{ ; ' Is.
South
-Bay
v§\~
Spectacle
Is. -----­
[g
1995 water
Area filled
afler1630
1630 land
1995 shoreline
with no historic
1
- - - - - ' changes shown
(
MOOII
IS.
V . ,"'
n
COMMERCli\l
~~
SOUANTUM
NECK
.'
1630-1995
)
Figure 5-6. 1630 and 1995 shorelines of Boston (source: Seasholes 2003).
PAL Report No. 1936.01
103
Chapter Five
Table 5-2. Known Post-contact Period Archaeological Sites Within and in the Vicinity of the Urban
Ri ng Phase 2 P tDJect.
MHCNo.
Site Name
Location
County
Notes
BOS-HA-39
BOS-HA-41
BOS-HA-42
BOS-HA-43
BOS-HA-45
BOS-HA-46
BOS-HA-47
BOS-HA-48
SWC-6
BOS-HA-49
Dillaway Thomas Historic Site
City Square Archaeological
District
Town Dock Wharves/Dry Dock
Site
Town Dock Pottery Site
Smith Site
Inoalls-Penny Pottery Site
Parker-HalTis Pottery Site
Newhall-Runey Pottery Site
Henley Distillery Site
Williams Homestead
Roxbury
Charlestown
Suffolk
Suffolk
Charlestown
Suffolk
Charlestown
Charlestown
Charlestown
Charlestown
Charlestown
Charlestown
Roxbury
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-50
MetTopolitan Horse Railway
Complex
Pierpoint Homestead
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-51
Tremont Street Housing
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-52
Elmwood Court Housing & Mill
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-55
Stone Jail
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-56
Elmwood Street Pumping Station
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-58
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-60
B & P RR Repair Shops & Car
Houses
Roxbury Station
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-61
Akron Sewer Pipe & Tile Co.
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-62
Sausage ManufactOlY
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-63
The Hugh Clarke Homestead
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-64
The John Grosvemor Homestead
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-65
The Gore Homestead
Roxbury
SuAolk
BOS-HA-66
The Heath Homestead
Roxbury
Suffolk
BOS-HA-72
E&GG Hook & Hastings Organ
Manufactory
Crown Glassworks
Condor Street
Suffolk County House of
COlTection
Doggett and Cunningham House
Sites
Fens Bridge - West Wingwalls
Roxbury
Suffolk
South Boston
East Boston
North Dorchester
Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk
Roxbury
Suffolk
Fenway
Suffolk
BOS-HA-76
BOS-HA-77
BOS-HA-80
BOS-HA-I03*
BOS-HA-119*
104
PAL Report No. 1936.01
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
SWC Archaeological
District
Muddy River Survey
(Cherau 2006)
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Table 5-2 (cont). Known Post-contact Period Archaeological Sites Within and in the Vicinity of the
Urban Ring Phase 2 Project.
MHCNo.
Site Name
Location
County
Notes
CAM-l-IA-4*
New England Glass Company
Site
Camblidge
Middlesex
CAM-HA-5*
Revere Sugar Company Refinery
Cambridge
Middlesex
CAM-I-IA-6*
North Street Workers' Housing
Cambridge
Middlesex
CAM-I-IA-7*
Millers River Sea Wall
Cambridge
Middlesex
Updated,
NorthPoint/Lechmere
Station Project (Cherau
and Banister 2007)
Updated,
N0I1hPointiLechmere
Station Project (Cherau
and Banister 2007)
Updated,
N ol1hPointiLechmere
Station Project (Cherau
and Banister 2007)
Updated,
N orthPointlLechmere
Station Project (Cherau
and Banister 2007)
CAM-HA-12*
SMV-HA-l *
SMV-HA-5*
Fort Washington
Union Glass Works
Middlesex Canal
Cambridge
Somerville
Somerville
Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex
Updated locational maps
(MCC 2005/2007)
Source: MHC site files
* indicates site within the alignment of one of tbe four preliminary build altematives.
SWC = Southwest Corridor
PAL Report No. 1936.01
105